New York, NY – July 14, 2022 –Goodwill® Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey Inc. (Goodwill NYNJ) named Jonathan Sheppard, Kevin Finnegan, and Kamran Ansari to its Board of Directors(BOD) during the board’s final meeting for fiscal year 2022 on June 23, 2022.
Jonathan Sheppard is President and CEO of J. Sheppard Associates, a full service Attorney Search & Executive Placement firm servicing New York’s top tier law firms, corporations and nonprofits. Having spent his entire career in the recruiting industry, Jon founded J. Sheppard Associates in January 2000, along with its sister company, DayBreak Staffing, which provides support staff in the legal, corporate and nonprofits as well. Jon and his team work best with those who lead forward thinking, inclusive and positive firms, companies and organizations.
A former NYC board chair for Easter Seals, Jon’s charitable work extends to New York Cares, the 911 Memorial and Museum, The Cristo Rey NY High School and others. An avid runner, Jon has completed seven NYC Marathons, generally enjoys an active lifestyle of golf, paddleboarding, gardening and other outdoor activities with his wife, Susan, and stepchildren in Huntington, NY.
“I am humbled to be asked to be a part of things at Goodwill NYNJ,” said Mr. Sheppard. “A few years ago when a former Easter Seals acquaintance introduced me to Katy, the nonprofit’s president/CEO, I was immediately impressed with her passion and energy. With the board adding bench strength from the retail industry in the last few years, I look forward to advocating on the human services programs side of things, sharing Goodwill’s story. I look forward to serving under Chair, Don Huber and Vice-Chair, Doug Hand, in the coming years.”
Kevin Finnegan is the CEO and Founder of Finnegan Advisory Group, a business consultancy and executive coach organization. Prior to this, Mr. Finnegan had spent the past four decades in corporate retail leadership as a strategic partner. His experiences have been in leading sales teams, organizational operations, real estate, portfolio, client development, omnichannel, e-commerce, visual merchandising, and systems, all with a focus on building future leaders.
Mr. Finnegan holds a BS in Accounting from Fordham University.
“I am both excited and honored to join the Goodwill of Greater NY NJ board of directors,” said Mr. Finnegan. “I look forward to playing a role in helping this amazing organization continue the mission of empowering individuals to find meaningful employment while gaining independence through the many programs offering support and mentoring. These programs available to those of the communities in which we live are so important in these difficult times. Additionally, the sustainability impact of the Goodwill stores, whose generated revenue helps support these programs, is having a significant impact on the environment.”
Kamran Ansari has been a venture investor and operator for nearly 20 years in both Silicon Valley and New York, focused on fintech and commerce, at companies including Pinterest, Facebook, Venmo, Braintree, MyYearbook/MeetMe, Boxed Wholesale, Acorns, Bread Finance, Recurly, and more. He has been a Principal, Venture Partner, and now Board Partner at Greycroft since early 2012.
Kamran was also, from 2015-2017, the Head of Corporate Development at Pinterest (‘PINS’) – the first, dedicated outside hire brought in to drive acquisitions & strategy, and to help scale Pinterest during its hyper-growth phase. At Pinterest, Kamran led 9 acquisitions — including Jelly, Instapaper, Highlight, URX, Fleksy, & TheHunt — and spearheaded reviews of hundreds of potential opportunities. He also worked on product extensions and company strategy across commerce, advertising, payments, and AI/Machine Learning. At Greycroft, Kamran has led investments in Boxed Wholesale (‘BOXD’), Azimo (pending acquisition), Credit Key, SISU, Coast Payments, Billie (acquired by Edgewell/Schick), Recurly (acquired by Accel-KKR), Fortumo (acquired by Boku), Bread Finance (acquired by Alliance Data Systems), Custora (acquired by Amperity), Floored 3D (acquired by CBRE), and Cord (acquired by Spotify). Kamran also managed Greycroft’s investment in Venmo (acquired by Braintree), and Co-led investments in Braintree (acquired by PayPal) and Trustev (acquired by TransUnion), and helped execute the fund’s original investment in Acorns. Earlier, Kamran was an operator at MyYearbook/MeetMe (‘MEET,’ acquired by ProSebien for $500M), an early private investor in Facebook (‘META’), and a VC at Tenaya Capital, where he worked on venture investments in Palo Alto Networks (‘PANW’), New Relic (‘NEWR’), and Zuora (‘ZUO’), and supported portfolio companies Zappos (acquired, ‘AMZN’) and Kayak (acquired, ‘PCLN’). He brings unique viewpoints on scaling high-growth technology businesses and insights from both sides of the table – as a Venture Investor & Board Member, and as a former operator & corporate development executive.
Kamran began his career at McKinsey & Company, and holds a B.A. from Yale, and both M.B.A and J.D. degrees from Stanford. He is an admissions interviewer for Stanford’s business school, and a member of the New York State Bar. He is also featured on CNBC, Cheddar TV, Bloomberg, and Fox Business News discussing various technology topics.
“I’m honored to join the Board of Goodwill NYNJ,” said Mr. Ansari. “The power of work is critically important, especially today, and I stand behind Goodwill’s mission to empower communities and provide them with sustainable jobs; Goodwill’s programs are making a meaningful difference in the lives of many. My family and I have been strong supporters of Goodwill over the years through our time, donations and gifts, and I’m grateful for the chance to deepen our involvement with the organization.”
“As part of its 3-year strategic plan of double impact of sustainable fashion and power of work, Goodwill NYNJ will expand its retail operations footprint in response to the retail thrift market trends,” said Katy Gaul-Stigge, Goodwill NYNJ President and CEO. “We will continue to grow and deepen the impact of our mission programs on people served, funded by a robust and sustainable retail operation. Kamran, Kevin, and Jon bring years of experience in the sectors that will complement the work of our Board of Directors and will help our team to reach the goals of the plan in the next two years.”
“We are pleased to have Jon, Kevin and Kamran on the board,” said Don Huber, chair of the Goodwill Board of Directors. “They bring valuable expertise in recruitment, retail and strategic planning, along with prior non-profit experience. Each of them is excited to join the board and enthusiastic about Goodwill’s work. I look forward to working with them.”
About Goodwill NYNJ:
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc. (Goodwill NYNJ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates retail stores throughout the region powered by donations of clothing and household items. Goodwill NYNJ translates those donations into workforce development services for people with disabilities and those who are unemployed or under-employed, job training leading to employment, and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illness. Annually, Goodwill NYNJ services build better lives for thousands of New York City Metropolitan Area residents and their families. For over 107 years, the agency’s mission has been to empower individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment to gain independence through the power of work. Learn more about Goodwill NYNJ at http://www.goodwillnynj.org; follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillNYNJ; and find us on Facebook or Instagram: GoodwillNYNJ.